EMGA Mitchell McLennan Pty Limited (EMM) has been engaged to complete quarterly attended noise

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1 12 December 2014 Level 5, 21 Bolton Street Newcastle NSW 2300 PO Box 506 Leonard Sharp Environment and Community Liaison Officer Broken Hill Operations Pty Ltd CBH Resources Rasp Mine Newcastle, NSW, 2300 T +61 (0) F +61 (0) E info@emgamm.com Re: RASP Mine Quarterly noise monitoring assessment (November 2014) 1 Introduction EMGA Mitchell McLennan Pty Limited (EMM) has been engaged to complete quarterly attended noise monitoring for the RASP Mine, Broken Hill, NSW. A noise assessment for the proposed 24 hour crusher operation was prepared by EMM in January 2014 (ref: J13083L2_24 hour crusher operation_final_200114). The assessment generally involved the measurement of in situ noise levels from the site s night time operations including the crushing plant. The results of the assessment found the crusher to be an insignificant noise contributor in comparison to other operating plant and equipment. Furthermore, during applicable meteorological conditions, noise from the site with the crusher in operation satisfied the project approval (PA) limits. Since submission of the 24 hour crusher noise assessment, the site s Environment Protection License (EPL) (license number 12559) has been amended to include 24 hour operation of the crusher, and consequently a 12 month quarterly noise monitoring programme is required for RASP Mine as per the EPL, starting November The first quarterly noise monitoring assessment was carried out by EMM and CBH Resources between 18 and 21 November This letter report summarises the outcomes of the first quarterly attended noise monitoring assessment and provides a determination of the off site noise levels associated with the site s operations. 2 Noise criteria 2.1 EPL noise limits Condition 4 of Section 3 of the EPL (12559) dated 10 September 2014 provides noise limits the site must meet during its operational phase. The attended monitoring locations and associated noise limits are provided in Table 1. The L eq,15minute night time limits that are of relevance to this report range between 35 to 39 db(a). Table 1 Operational noise limits Receiver no Location Operational noise limit, L eq,15minute db(a) Day Evening Night A1 Piper St North A2 Piper St Central A3 Eyre St North Page 1

2 Table 1 Operational noise limits Receiver no Location Operational noise limit, L eq,15minute db(a) Day Evening Night A4 Eyre St Central A5 Eyre St South A6 Bonanza and Gypsum Sts A7 Carbon St A8 South Rd A9 Crystal St A10 Garnet and Blende Sts A11 Crystal St A12 Crystal St A Eyre St A14 Piper St North The noise limits do not apply under meteorological conditions nominated in the EPL, as follows: wind speeds greater than 3 m/s at 10 m above ground level; stability category F temperature inversion conditions and wind speeds greater than 2 m/s at 10 m above ground level; or stability category G temperature inversion conditions. The EPL states that modification factors in Section 4 of the INP (EPA 2000) should also be applied to the measured mine noise levels where applicable. The INP (EPA 2000) provides guidelines for applying modifying factor adjustments to account for certain noise characteristics, including low frequency noise emissions. The INP states that where there is a difference of 15 decibels or more between C weighted and A weighted levels, a correction factor of 5 db is applicable. Where relevant, this guideline has been applied to this assessment as presented in Section 4. It is noted that Section of the INP identifies that a development is deemed in non compliance if the monitored noise levels from the mine are more than 2 db above the noise limit. This procedure has been adopted for this assessment and is in recognition of field measurement tolerances and human perceptibility to changes in noise levels. 3 Methodology Attended noise monitoring was conducted during three consecutive night time periods from 18 to 21 November 2014 to quantify off site noise levels from RASP Mine. It is noted that the EPL nominates noise limits for day, evening and night periods, although attended monitoring was completed during the night time period to minimise the contamination of monitoring data by extraneous noise sources (eg domestic and road traffic noise). Noise limits for the night time period are also more stringent (or the same for some locations) than noise limits for day and evening periods. Several operations at RASP Mine do not occur during the night time period and are restricted to day time and evening hours only (ie shunting of wagons and rock blasting), notwithstanding are not considered relevant to this assessment. Attended monitoring locations included A1 to A14 (refer to Figure 1). The EPL nominates one additional attended monitoring location where monitoring is to be undertaken, namely the most affected residential Page 2

3 premise in Iodide Street or Proprietary Square. Attended monitoring was completed at Proprietary Square for this quarterly monitoring period. The noise monitoring assessment consisted of 15 minute measurements, with the noise contribution from RASP Mine quantified where possible amongst ambient noise. The attended noise measurements were completed using a Brüel and Kjær 2250 Type 1 one third octave band integrating sound analyser. Field calibration of the instrument was undertaken using a Brüel and Kjær type 4230 calibrator. Measurements were undertaken in accordance with Australian Standard AS Description and Measurement of Environmental Noise Parts 1, 2 and 3. The instruments were within their NATA laboratory calibration period during the time of these readings and certificates are provided in Appendix A. The attended monitoring locations are presented on Figure 1. Page 3

4 A12 A11 Iodide Street Proprietary Square A10 ME A13 A9 A8 Additional attended noise monitoring locations GDA 1994 MGA Zone A5 Attended noise monitoring locations A4 A6 RE T A1 EE R ST 0.6 km Source: EMM (2014); ESRI (2014) C:\_wkg\13083_RASP\AttachmentA.mxd 12/12/2014 A3 A2 EY KEY RO AD A14 EE A7 NI ND Figure 1 Site locality and attended noise monitoring locations

5 4 Attended noise monitoring results Meteorological data was obtained from the Bureau of Meteorology's Automatic Weather Station (BOM's AWS) situated at Broken Hill Airport (at 10 m above ground). The presence or otherwise of stability category F or G temperature inversion conditions was not able to be determined with available weather data. These conditions are not typical of the spring season, but could have affected the results herein. For 23 out of the 36 samples (64%), the wind speed was above 3 m/s and therefore the noise limits do not apply for these samples according to the site's EPL. RASP Mine noise contribution was within the INP's allowable 2 db tolerance of the noise limits for three valid (applicable meteorological conditions) attended measurements. All other noise contributions satisfied the relevant noise limits. The noise monitoring results are presented in Table 2. Page 5

6 Table 2 Noise monitoring results for quarter 1 November 2014, db(a) Location Date Time (hrs) Total 15 minute noise level RASP Mine 15 minute noise level EPL noise limit 3 Meteorological data 1 Comments L eq L max L 90 C A L eq L eq Wind speed Wind direction db(a) A14 18/11/14 22: IA SE RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent hum from neighbouring mine audible. Traffic very frequent on Eyre St and insects just audible. A12 18/11/14 23: ESE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a). Frequent traffic passbys and distant traffic audible. Insects also audible. PS 2 18/11/14 23: E RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible and noise levels ranging from db(a). A11 19/11/14 0: IA 39 >3 ESE RASP Mine inaudible. Frequent traffic passbys and distant traffic audible. Insects also audible. A10 19/11/14 0: E RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a). Frequent traffic passbys and distant traffic audible. A9 19/11/14 0: E RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a), and haul truck just audible briefly. Frequent traffic passbys and distant traffic audible. Train audible briefly. Wind in trees occasionally audible. A8 19/11/14 1: >3 E RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a). Distant traffic audible occasionally. Wind in trees occasionally audible. Pedestrian and dogs barking audible for several minutes. A7 19/11/14 1: >3 E RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible ranging between db(a), and haul truck just audible briefly. Distant traffic audible occasionally. Wind in trees frequently audible. Dogs barking audible for several minutes. A6 19/11/14 2: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible ranging between db(a), and haul truck audible for almost 8 minutes. Traffic passby on several occasions. A5 19/11/14 2: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible briefly, and haul trucks audible for most of the measurement. Dogs barking for several minutes. A4 19/11/14 3: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible briefly, and haul truck audible for approximately 3 minutes. Traffic passbys. A3 19/11/14 3: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible briefly, and haul trucks audible for approximately 12 minutes. Traffic passbys. A2 19/11/14 3: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible consistently at 27 db(a). Nearby car audible. Roosters audible frequently during measurement. Page 6

7 Table 2 Noise monitoring results for quarter 1 November 2014, db(a) Location Date Time (hrs) Total 15 minute noise level RASP Mine 15 minute noise level EPL noise limit 3 Meteorological data 1 Comments L eq L max L 90 C A L eq L eq Wind speed Wind direction db(a) A1 19/11/14 4: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible, and haul trucks audible for approximately 10 minutes. Dogs barking briefly. Occasional traffic passby. A13 19/11/14 4: >3 ENE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible, and haul truck audible for approximately 3 minutes. Distant traffic audible on one occasion. A1 19/11/14 22: >3 N RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible when ambient low at 35 db(a). Nearby air conditioning unit audible and consistent throughout measurement. Traffic passbys and distant traffic frequently audible. Train just audible consistently throughout measurement. A3 19/11/14 23: N RASP Mine mill and crushing plant inaudible. Haul trucks audible for approximately 6 minutes. Frequent traffic passbys. A14 19/11/14 23: >3 N RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a), and haul truck audible for approximately 4 minutes. Traffic on Eyre St frequently audible. A13 20/11/14 0: NA 35 >3 NE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a), and haul trucks audible for most of the measurement. Traffic passby. A2 20/11/14 0: >3 NNE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant inaudible. Haul trucks audible for approximately 5 minutes. Nearby air conditioning unit audible and consistent. Frequent traffic audible. A4 20/11/14 1: >3 N RASP Mine mill and crushing plant inaudible. RASP Mine consistent sound audible at 31 db(a). Frequent traffic audible. Insects just audible and constant. A5 20/11/14 1: N RASP Mine mill and crushing plant inaudible. RASP Mine consistent sound audible ranging between db(a). Haul truck audible for less than 4 minutes. Very frequent traffic passbys. A6 20/11/14 2: >3 NNE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant inaudible. RASP Mine consistent sound audible at 30 db(a). Haul truck audible for just over 3 minutes. Frequent traffic passbys. A7 20/11/14 2: Nil 35 >3 NNE RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent hum from neighbouring mine audible. Traffic audible frequently. Dogs barking consistently during measurement. A8 20/11/14 2: >3 NNE RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a). Occasional traffic audible. Dog barking consistently throughout measurement. Page 7

8 Table 2 Noise monitoring results for quarter 1 November 2014, db(a) Location Date Time (hrs) Total 15 minute noise level RASP Mine 15 minute noise level EPL noise limit 3 Meteorological data 1 Comments L eq L max L 90 C A L eq L eq Wind speed Wind direction db(a) A9 20/11/14 3: IA 39 >3 NNE RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent hum from neighbouring mine audible. Occasional traffic passby. Dogs barking for approximately 4 minutes. A12 20/11/14 23: SW RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a). Haul truck audible for approximately 1 minute. Traffic passby and frequent distant traffic audible. PS 2 20/11/14 23: n/a RASP Mine mill and crushing plant audible ranging between db(a). Car nearby idling and traffic audible. A10 21/11/14 0: IA n/a RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent hum from neighbouring mine just audible. Traffic audible frequently. Nearby pump and sprinkler consistently audible. A13 21/11/14 0: n/a RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible briefly when ambient low at 32 db(a). Neighbouring mine audible consistently. Occasional traffic passby and distant traffic audible. A14 21/11/14 1: n/a RASP Mine mill and crushing plant inaudible. Haul truck at workshop just audible briefly. Neighbouring mine audible consistently. Traffic occasionally audible. A12 21/11/14 1: n/a RASP Mine mill and crushing plant consistently audible ranging between db(a), and haul truck audible for approximately 3 minutes. RASP Mine forklift audible at rail loading area for less than 2 minutes. Occasional traffic passby and frequent distant traffic audible. A11 21/11/14 2: >3 WSW RASP Mine mill and crushing plant just audible briefly in last minute of the measurement when ambient approximately at 37 db(a), and haul truck just audible for approximately 1 minute. Insects and nearby air conditioning unit consistently audible. Frequent traffic passbys and distant traffic audible. A6 21/11/14 2: IA 39 >3 SW RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent noise from neighbouring mine audible. Traffic passbys very frequent. A3 21/11/14 3: IA 39 >3 SSW RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent noise from neighbouring mine audible. Traffic passbys very frequent. A1 21/11/14 3: IA 35 >3 SW RASP Mine inaudible. Consistent noise from neighbouring mine audible. Occasional traffic passby and distant traffic audible. Notes: 1. Meteorological data was obtained from BOM's AWS situated at Broken Hill Airport (at 10 m above ground).wind speed is in m/s. Page 8

9 2. Additional monitoring location Proprietary Square as per the site's EPL (12559). 3. Night time noise limit. 4. Assumed criterion as the site's EPL does not nominate noise limits for this monitoring location. 5. Bold font indicates where wind speed is above 3 m/s at 10 m above ground. 5. Italic font indicates where the relevant EPL noise limit does not apply due to inapplicable meteorological conditions (ie wind speed above 3 m/s at 10 m above ground). 6. Underlined font indicates where a 5 db penalty has been added to RASP Mine's L eq,15 min contribution due to low frequency noise. 7. IA = Inaudible Page 9

10 5 Conclusion EMM has completed a noise monitoring assessment of operational noise from RASP Mine activities as per the site's EPL (12559). The monitoring assessment for this quarter found that noise from RASP Mine operation (including the crushing plant) satisfies the noise limits at all attended monitoring locations during applicable meteorological conditions. Monitoring results at the additional attended monitoring location in Proprietary Square also satisfied an assumed noise limit (conservatively adopted from the closest private residence) during applicable meteorological conditions. We trust this information meets your requirements and if you need any further clarifications please contact our office. Yours sincerely Teanuanua Villierme tvillierme@emgamm.com Reviewed by: NI

11 Appendix A Calibration certificates Page 11

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